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hokutomaster

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So recently I've bought a couple of Kershaws from the local Wally World, and I couldn't be happier with them. I bought a tanto Kuro, and a Crown. Pretty much ideal for me for EDC and for 20ish dollars I'm absolutely amazed at the quality of these knives. I'm not surprised at the quality, since they are Kershaw and it's to be expected, but there is one thing that bothers me about them. They both have "CHINA" stamped on the blade. I guess it's pretty small print, and it's not capitalized like that it's just "China", but still, to me the word pops out when you see it on the blade. If you were to go to your local tobacco store, or tool store, or mall "weapon/ lighter/ asian artwork/ whatever" shop, you could expect to find a plethora of knives for 20 to 50 dollars or more expensive even, and you would know without looking at the blades they would be stamped with "CHINA" or in a worst-case scenario, "PAKISTAN". You would also know without having to handle the knife that it's a piece of trash that should be properly disposed of. Or kept in a drawer for collecting, but not actually used. My issue is that having the C-word stamped on your blade is pretty much knowing that what you're carrying isn't top-notch, or high class or what have you. I know that my Kershaws aren't garbage knives like the nameless, brandless, cheapo edged chunks of metal like these knives. But yet they have "China" printed on the blade. WHY? :confused:
Is it a requirement to have the C-word stamped on there for all to see if the steel did indeed come from China? I know that my knives aren't crap, but why does it have to be there? Surely Kershaw and the like are aware that knife enthusiasts stay away from Chinese junkers, so is it their choice to stamp it on there? It can't possibly help sales to print "China" on the blade... It probably doesn't hurt too much either, but it seems to me that "CHINA" is nearly synonymous with "JUNK". So why is it there? *CORRECTION*... "CHINA" isn't on the Kuro's blade, it's molded into the handle... :(
 
hokutomaster said:
Is it a requirement to have the C-word stamped on there for all to see if the steel did indeed come from China?
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I think it means that the knives themselves are made in China, not just the steel.
 
So China has a rule that if something is made there, they have to mark somewhere on the product the name of their country? Seems bad for buisiness... It's english letters so that doesn't make sense... Why can't there just be a sticker on it somewhere? Like on cheap toys from vending machines? Or maybe that would be even more degrading to peel a sticker off of your new knife...
 
hokutomaster said:
So China has a rule that if something is made there, they have to mark somewhere on the product the name of their country? Seems bad for buisiness... It's english letters so that doesn't make sense... Why can't there just be a sticker on it somewhere? Like on cheap toys from vending machines? Or maybe that would be even more degrading to peel a sticker off of your new knife...
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a Chinese rule. I imagine that American workers are very glad that knives made in China aren't being passed off as US made.
 
Most of the lower cost Kershaw knives are made in China. But to be honest the quality is so good that I could care less.
I just got one for $16 and couldn't be happier.
This could backfire on Kershaw because I was looking to buy a US made model for $50 and settled for the cheaper import .
 
I guess I'm just wondering why it's on them at all. That's fine if they're made in China, great quality for a low price. Don't get me wrong I'd buy US made if I had the funds ATM, but I don't just yet. I wish I knew who had the say on whether or not the C-word gets put on the knife, does Kershaw, or does the People's Republic of China? I'm sure that Kershaw doesn't have it on there in their concept designs... Or I would at least think so.

*EDIT* Well that answers my question thank you. And I guess when you look at it that way, so that the purchaser is aware of the country of origin, I'm actually glad it's there for all to see. Completely bolstered the appeal of a blade with "USA" stamped on it.
 
hokutomaster said:
I guess I'm just wondering why it's on them at all. That's fine if they're made in China, great quality for a low price. Don't get me wrong I'd buy US made if I had the funds ATM, but I don't just yet. I wish I knew who had the say on whether or not the C-word gets put on the knife, does Kershaw, or does the People's Republic of China? I'm sure that Kershaw doesn't have it on there in their concept designs... Or I would at least think so.
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It's a US govt requirement , it could be a sticker , but as someone mentioned Kershaw probably wants to make sure they aren't mistaken for their us made knives.
 
Burwick said:
I also agree, Chinese knives belong in the scrap pile.
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Sure not throwing mine into any scrap piles...

puning_temple16a1869fff34e3f66399.jpg


You guys can always just imagine China as a mystical land full of wise kung-fu masters and golden temples atop mountains... does wonders!
 
It's US law. It's also partly designed to help US consumers.

If you don't like it there, do what I do- don't buy it. If something says China, I leave it on the shelf. I'm glad they are marked. I'd be pretty upset if I bought something that I thought was made in a free country and it turned out to be Chinese.
 
I don't understand the entire topic.

Wouldn't it bother you if companies didn't say where their products were made???
 
The Chinese make a lot of junk, but they're also very well able to make good quality products. That not only counts for knives, but also for example for watches and flashlights; Fenix makes great flashlights and I read that some models of Casio their G-Shock series are made in China.

I think it just depends on what their client wants and what consumers are willing to pay. A high quality product comes with a price, even in China.
 
Alright, there is some (what seems to be) blind patriotism in this thread.

All differences in quality are based on the differing manufacturing plants or even differing QC managers. They are not based on country.
Some plants are ISO 9001 certified, some are not. Some managers have Six Sigma/LEAN training, some do not. Some companies treat their workers well, some do not. That is the case in the US as well.

The reason a product go to a certain Chinese plant is that the US company that owns the product is comfortable the output quality of that specific plant. The US company's goal is to keep the cost down while maintaining an acceptable quality. If you disagree with the US company's judgement of quality, feel free to let your voice be heard. Email them, call, them, tell them to bring the products back to US plants; they'll give an answer.

If you do assume all "Made in China" labels to be synonymous to "Junk", then that's just an ignorant assumption.
What are you basing that opinion on? I am actually curious to know.
 
hokutomaster said:
I guess I'm just wondering why it's on them at all. That's fine if they're made in China, great quality for a low price. Don't get me wrong I'd buy US made if I had the funds ATM, but I don't just yet. I wish I knew who had the say on whether or not the C-word gets put on the knife, does Kershaw, or does the People's Republic of China? I'm sure that Kershaw doesn't have it on there in their concept designs... Or I would at least think so.

*EDIT* Well that answers my question thank you. And I guess when you look at it that way, so that the purchaser is aware of the country of origin, I'm actually glad it's there for all to see. Completely bolstered the appeal of a blade with "USA" stamped on it.
Click to expand...

Sure seems like a bunch of justification by you. "China sucks" but's it's OK for you because you don't have any funds at the moment...

Why not just deal with it? Big deal.

If you didn't know that everything inside a Walmart came from China, then you need to read the news more.

Also, where do you think that computer/laptop/tablet/smartphone that you're typing your diatribes into was made? I'll give you one guess...
 
CWL said:
Sure seems like a bunch of justification by you. "China sucks" but's it's OK for you because you don't have any funds at the moment...

Why not just deal with it? Big deal.

If you didn't know that everything inside a Walmart came from China, then you need to read the news more.

Also, where do you think that computer/laptop/tablet/smartphone that you're typing your diatribes into was made? I'll give you one guess...
Click to expand...


Americans have cheaped themselves into the situation we are in today and now we all are paying the piper...
 
Ankerson said:
Americans have cheaped themselves into the situation we are in today and now we all are paying the piper...
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Historically, US manufacturing in the 1970-1980s went downhill and left room for foreign imports to gain a foothold.

This is decades old. Started before most readers here was born or can remember.

Need to live in the present.
 
hokutomaster said:
So recently I've bought a couple of Kershaws from the local Wally World, and I couldn't be happier with them. I bought a tanto Kuro, and a Crown. Pretty much ideal for me for EDC and for 20ish dollars I'm absolutely amazed at the quality of these knives. I'm not surprised at the quality, since they are Kershaw and it's to be expected, but there is one thing that bothers me about them. They both have "CHINA" stamped on the blade. I guess it's pretty small print, and it's not capitalized like that it's just "China", but still, to me the word pops out when you see it on the blade. If you were to go to your local tobacco store, or tool store, or mall "weapon/ lighter/ asian artwork/ whatever" shop, you could expect to find a plethora of knives for 20 to 50 dollars or more expensive even, and you would know without looking at the blades they would be stamped with "CHINA" or in a worst-case scenario, "PAKISTAN". You would also know without having to handle the knife that it's a piece of trash that should be properly disposed of. Or kept in a drawer for collecting, but not actually used. My issue is that having the C-word stamped on your blade is pretty much knowing that what you're carrying isn't top-notch, or high class or what have you. I know that my Kershaws aren't garbage knives like the nameless, brandless, cheapo edged chunks of metal like these knives. But yet they have "China" printed on the blade. WHY? :confused:
Is it a requirement to have the C-word stamped on there for all to see if the steel did indeed come from China? I know that my knives aren't crap, but why does it have to be there? Surely Kershaw and the like are aware that knife enthusiasts stay away from Chinese junkers, so is it their choice to stamp it on there? It can't possibly help sales to print "China" on the blade... It probably doesn't hurt too much either, but it seems to me that "CHINA" is nearly synonymous with "JUNK". So why is it there? *CORRECTION*... "CHINA" isn't on the Kuro's blade, it's molded into the handle... :(
Click to expand...


So you want to pay the price of cheap forign labour but not have to think about it?

Anyways."China" doesn't mean junk, they produce to whatever standard they are asked to produce. Same as Taiwan, same as Japan, Same as here. I'm not sure if they could make a CRK quality knife, but if asked for it I'm sure they could come pretty close (at this point I'm pretty confident Taiwan could, so China can't be that far off).
I might have concerns about the purity of the steel they use, but it's not like you're buying something that's supposed to be made of CPM M-4.
I have other reasons for avoiding the stamp, but that belongs on a different forum.
 
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